Mature Content Warning: Language, naughty talk, selection of cute monster girls by a master. There is a little cuddling. I don’t think anything too graphic occurs in this chapter to be honest.

Author’s Note: Here’s the second chapter. If you have questions ask! This is a work in progress, so things may change now and then.

--

Chapter 2: Girls and Transits

There are many people in the world of Galataea and each of those people has their unique way of doing things. They laugh a certain way, cry a certain way, and even die a certain way. Even during a time in human history when the race of man is uniformly healthy and no disability causing genetics linger in the human gene pool, people still strive to express their unique individuality.

On the planet Galataea, humanity has begun to express itself in a strange and potentially intriguing manner. They currently interact on a daily basis with a race of beings who are fundamentally inhuman, but long to be part of the human experience.

Those native beings of the planet did not exist in the earliest records of the original colonization period. No, they arose long after the first colonies were completed. Their existence came as a complete surprise to humanity in general.

Nearly three thousand years have passed since those earliest discoveries, since the Crystallim race came into existence. During that time, human civilization was cut down to a remnant of its former self, but rose again to its current glory.

For, you see those early days of first contact were fraught with danger and peril. The Crystallim were wild, fierce creatures. They frequently wore the forms of man, at least to some degree. Crystallim are creatures, uniformly female for reasons that are still not understood completely, who take on the form of humanity’s myths and legends. They even take on the form of popular cultural archetypes.

The reason for the Crystallim to take on this manner of appearance is still not clearly known, but there are many theories. Yes, there are many theories.

Scott rubbed his chin. He had taken a moment to look over the text version of an oral lecture that had recently been delivered by his new sponsor. As a hunter he would need sponsorship in order to maintain his licensing. Hunters captured Crystallim, but they were not licensed traders. Crystallim trading was a highly regulated process due to various reasons.

One of the most important reasons was that the Crystallim, as living beings, had been granted limited fundamental human rights. Their existence was clearly inhuman in nature, but they interacted well with humanity. They would have been granted full human rights, but their unique nature made that problematic.

“She uses an informal approach in her lectures. Interesting.” Scott could appreciate the informal approach. I kept things simple and engaging. Many of the lectures that he had been forced to sit through during his post-adult education had been given by bored academics. How it was possible to make the biology and psychology of horny monster women seem boring and clinical was something he might never understand.

The newly minted hunter shut down the information window then stood up. He had to clear out of his room today. His barracks room belonged to the ADF and a new recruit would take over residence within the week.

It was a burdensome chore, but he commanded the room to send all of his personal items to his storage locker. He had purchased a storage unit for that purpose.

His MISS, would not hold everything that he owned. He had steadily procured numerous crucial items over the last few years. He was fully stocked on every basic healing item, and had even purchased an MHU. The mobile housing units were useful when spending time in the wilderness as they could be deployed and repacked at need. Of course, he would need to purchase an MHU expansion slot for his MISS to be able to actually carry it into the field, but that was an issue for later.

Scott smiled softly at the empty room. It had been his home for two years. Now, however, it was time to move on. His first stop would be the American branch of the Global Trade Network. He was owed a starter Crystallim, and his trade ticket guaranteed that he would be able to acquire a partner who was at least C rank in quality.

Every Crystallim had a rank based on how easily they would develop skills and attributes. They operated on a growth pattern similar to the EXP system that humans used. However, unlike humans they were able to directly train their stats based on the things that they did in their lives. They also automatically increased their stats whenever they increased their level.

He rubbed his chin then left the room for the last time. The starter Crystallim varied by the city and region. In America he would have five choices for a basic type and breed, but he would have to sift through the offerings to find the perfect match.

Scott walked out of the barracks build and stood at the foot of the inner wall. Before him was a wide tract of land that went on for a few miles, or about five kilometers if you had a hard-on for the metric system. In America city they used both measurements as a nod to efficiency and the ancient Earth empire that the city’s name was derived from.

The hunter walked down a short stone path then stepped onto the main footpath leading into town. He looked off to his right and saw a tightly packed line of vehicles entering and exiting the city via ground routes.

He looked overhead and noticed flying vehicles slowly floating along. There were specific entrance and exist paths for all forms of traffic, including pedestrians. Scott owned no vehicle, at present. As a hunter he would need at least a small tank in the near future, but at the moment he simply needed to hunt.

He set out at a leisurely trot toward the city. Twenty minutes later he came to a halt at the pedestrian entrance and waved to the guard on duty. The air shimmered lightly as he walked forward. The city-barrier was a useful tool of civilization. It kept out various contaminants, including non-authorized individuals.

Once he was through the barrier the city seemed to spring up all around him. Here on the outskirts, the buildings only had a few floors, but they steadily increased in overall size until you reached the center. The location that he needed to travel too was on the other side of the city, near the Northern Gate.

Scott did not feel a burning desire to walk all the way to the GTN Center, so he moved quickly toward a long line of pedestrians in the distance. He got in line and waited patiently as people rapidly moved forward at a reasonable pace.

The lines for transit points were long by default due to the sheer number of people living in the city. However, those lines always moved at a steady pace if the equipment worked properly.

Soon Scott was at the center of a long line, as more people had happily filled in behind him. He did a little people watching while he waited. The American people were nothing if not entertaining to watch.

One sight caught his attention immediately, though he wished that it did not. Up ahead a guy wearing sunglasses too large for his face strolled down the sidewalk. Unfortunately, he only wore sunglasses. Public nudity was not illegal, but more than a few people grumbled about it when people actually took that fact too literally.

At least he was not hairy and fat. Human obesity was a thing of the past, even for chronic over-eaters. Most people were perfectly toned and sculpted due to genetic tinkering over the last few thousand years.

The front of the line could not come soon enough for him after seeing that sight. There was only so much penis that he could witness in one day, at least there were limits when it was not his penis that he was witnessing.

Scott walked toward the transit pad, passing through a green screen of energy in the process. The screen remained green, a sign that he was not a criminal. Felons and other individuals of ill-repute were not allowed to use public transit points or transportation. They had to walk everywhere.

He stepped onto the platform and then walked through the transit point, a site-to-site dimensional junction that allowed people to instantly step from one point to another. In this instance, the transit point allowed him to step from the outskirts of the city to the number twelve transit point in the center of the city.

The hunter left his current transit area then immediately headed toward the next transit point that he needed to take. The line was even longer here, but it did not matter. He would cut at least twenty miles from his walking time by taking the two transit points.

After he managed to get through the line and reached his next destination, he leisurely strolled down the sidewalk. It became a bit too crowded for him after a few minutes, however. The urban sprawl housed millions of people and apparently most of them had decided to go to the shopping district today!

Scott slipped through the crowd, managing not to bump into too many people in the process, and made a bee-line for his turn-off. The GTN branch had its own corner of the street and even a parking lot, a true rarity for any business in this city. While people did drive and fly through town, it was much simpler to take public transit.

The hunter looked at the massive building then craned his head back. He looked up toward the sky then shaded his eyes in an attempt to see the top. It was not the tallest building in the city, but it was still quite a feat of structural engineering.

Inside the GTN building, the view shrunk down to typical office building standards. The lobby was quite spectacular with polished concrete floors and massive pillars. There was a water fountain at the center with a stature of a supremely muscular man holding a globe above his head.

Scott had seen it before, but it was still a lovely image. He preferred the statue that they used on the weekends, however. The statue of Atlas holding up the world was nice, but nothing beat the nude statue of Aphrodite lying inside an open clam shell while she gazed at everyone who entered the premises.

He liked the way that the statue of the goddess was designed to have her head propped up on one hand, while she wore a curious and intrigued expression. She seemed both naughty and interesting at the same time. Atlas, for all the detail that went into his design, just seemed strong.

Scott weaved through the crowd then made his way to an express transit point that was reserved for VIPs and other individuals. Today, he was an authorized individual. Otherwise he would have to take the stairs or use one of the public transits for common shoppers. Smaller buildings used lift tubes and elevators, but for large buildings such as the GTN branches, transit points were authorized for commercial purposes. There were always at least a few emergency transit points, in any building that was more than twenty floors tall, however.

He took the transit up to the 112th floor then walked out with a smile. He had finally arrived. There was a small crowd of people here. Most of them were probably newly minted hunters as that was one of the primary types of customer on this floor. Hunters, breeders, and para-military mercenaries were catered to on floors 110 through 120 of the American GTN Branch.

Scott got in line behind the others. He had just settled in for a short wait when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

“Hey, I know that ID. You’re Scott, right?”

He turned toward the voice and saw a familiar girl. “Well, if it isn’t my new friend the exhibitionist.”

The girl he had spoken too briefly through his drone the day before walked toward him with a warm smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Scott smiled at her. “Well, I can say the same thing to you. I just ended my tour in the army. How about you?”

“Ah, I have to pick up a Crystallim that I ordered.” replied the honey-blond girl.

He nodded to her. “So, we did not really get a chance to talk much yesterday. Are you a licensed hunter or a pet owner?”

Alexis laughed lightly. “I’m a hunter. Just received my license recently.”

“Ah, same here. I have to pick up my starter.” said Scott.

“Really? That’s a big decision. Which are you leaning toward?” asked the girl while sharing a friendly smile.

Several people in line, mostly male, turned toward them. Rather, toward Alexis. Few people in the world could be considered ugly, but fewer could be considered truly beautiful because of the sheer amount of beautiful people in the world. Alexis was not the absolute most beautiful girl that Scott had ever seen, but she was definitely top-tier and would easily give any of those girls a run for their credits.

“Well, I would go with a psychic type if possible, but they don’t have any starter Crystallim in this city of that type.”

“Why psychic?” asked Alexis.

Scott grinned at her lightly. “I have a high-synchronization with technological and psychic types right now since I worked with an Avatar for the last two years.”

“Oh right! The drone...” Alexis laughed at herself a little then shook her head. It should have been obvious.

The line moved forward a bit, and they moved with it. Scott and Alexis chatted for a while, before she asked him a good question. “Why didn’t you come over?”

“Ah, I wanted to come see you girls in person, but I was in the middle of finishing up my last day in the ADF. I did intend to contact you tonight.”

“Maybe I have a date tonight?” asked the girl. She crossed her arms over her impressive chest then smirked at him.

“If you do, they’re lucky.” replied Scott.

The blond girl grinned at him. “Damn right... too bad I’m all alone again.”

“Well, you have your Cat Girl and your new partner is coming today, right?”

“Yeah.... but...” Alexis’ face became flush and began to heat up a little.

“Ah, I see... You’re suffering from a distinct lack of penis.” said Scott before nodding as though he had stated something truly wise.

“Well, yeah... I’m not a lesbian you know. I do want an actual boyfriend at some point, but I have always loved Crystallim. Ginger, my Cat Girl, has been with me since I was a little.” Alexis smiled gently at Scott.

“Things must have gotten interesting when you hit puberty.” said Scott.

The blond girl nodded quickly. “Oh, I’ll say. I swear that cat stays horny every minute of the day since I grew up.”

“She just loves you. It was obvious when I saw you two yesterday.” said Scott.

The not-quite lesbian hunter smiled at him again. “Yes, she does. I love her too, we’re like sisters... Well, sort of...”

“Sisters with matching tats.” said the hunter.

Alexis bit her lower lip then shook her head. “I can’t believe we showed you.”

“I can’t believe you showed the whole world.” Scott laughed a little when she turned pale and shook her head.

“You seemed like such a nice flying eyeball... I thought that you might like a show.” said Alexis.

Scott smirked at her then sighed loudly. “But you went and ruined it by putting clothes on...”

“Sorry to disappoint you...”

“I never said I was disappointed. You look nice with clothes on.” said Scott. He took in the sight of her wearing a simple mini-skirt and jacket combo. He would have expected her to wear heels with that sort of outfit, but she wore hiking boots instead.

“Really? You think so?”

He nodded to her. “Sure. I’m honestly surprised that you don’t have a boyfriend.”

Alexis shrugged at him. “I know it sounds conceited, but I’ve never met a straight guy who didn’t want the job. I just don’t see a point in dating a guy who is going to be sitting around in town all the time.”

“So, you’d rather date someone who travels around like a hunter?”

“Why? Are you interested? I could give you an application.” she said sweetly.

“Maybe... but, I suspect that we’re both going to be busy for the next few months.”

The blond hunter sighed loudly. “Yeah, true. I look forward to it, but I do need a boyfriend.”

Scott had never met such a brazen girl before, not including Crystallim of course. “You seem like you’d take almost anyone who was interesting.”

“At this point, I might. A girl like me has needs...”

“A girl like you?” asked Scott.

Alexis winced then slipped closer to Scott. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Is it something illegal?” asked Scott.

“No, nothing like that.” she said quickly.

“Then sure.”

“Alright, good enough.” She gestured at the air and a message screen popped up in front of Scott.

>>

Alexis Rantez has sent you a friendship request.

Do you accept? Yes | No

>>

Scott accepted the request then looked at Alexis. She gestured at the air again and her status appeared in front of him. His eyes widened in mild-surprise then he looked toward her.

“Yes, it is true.” she said.

“I can see why that would be a problem for you. If you still want me to come see you later, I’ll make sure to be there.”

Alexis smiled softly at him. “You are such a sweet boy.”

She leaned up and kissed him softly on the cheek in response. Scott immediately felt two things, an increased sense of arousal and loss of vital energy. A warning message flashed through his mind. He had lost one point of vital force.

“Sorry... I am not perfectly in control sometimes.” said the female hunter.

Scott smiled at her then shook his head. “No, don’t be sorry. It’s nice to meet a girl who can make me weak in the knees.”

Alexis giggled at him then slipped her hand over to lightly curl a finger through one of his belt loops. “Remember that you said that...”

“I will.” He chuckled softly then sighed. Who would have thought that the girl standing in front of him was part succubus? At least it explained her unnaturally high beauty and overall desire to find a boyfriend. Even the cute little batwing tat that sat just above her perky ass made more sense now.

Human offspring between a human and a Crystallim were rare. Normally, if child was born it would be another Crystallim. In rare instances a human child, almost always female, would be born. Those children always had characteristics of both their Crystallim mother and their human parent. Unlike human sexual interaction, a male or a female human could impregnate a Crystallim. Though, men had a much higher probability of causing a human child to be born.

Scott initiated a direct-line to Alexis so that they could speak without talking out loud. A message screen popped up and he thought about what he wanted to say. The words he thought of saying appeared on the screen. When he was done with his message he hit send and it went to Alexis.

She received it and immediately read it before replying back.

>>

I’ll be OK. I’ve been tested and the chance of my awakening as a Crystallim is only 0.8%. If it happens, then it happens. I just hope that I find a proper boyfriend before that happens so he can keep me Lucid.

>>

Scott read her answer then replied back to her.

>>

If you do awaken, I’ll gladly be your master. Ha Ha.

>>

She laughed out loud then screwed her mouth to the side. She snorted cutely then answered him back.

>>

I just bet you would! Would you even be able to handle me if I went full-succubus on you?”

>>

Scott snickered. He thought up a good response then sent it off to her.

>>

I would have to handle you daily and with much enthusiasm, wouldn’t I? If you don’t listen, I might have to punish you.”

>>

Alexis giggled softly. “Oh, really?”

“Definitely.” said Scott before he flashed her a cheeky grin.

They continued to text and giggle at each other like a couple of idiots for quite some time. However, soon they had to go their separate ways. Scott needed to go to a counter specifically designed for Noob trainers, and Alexis needed to go to the counter designated for those who had started their career but had not received their first promotion. Basically, she was considered to be a slightly more experienced Noob.

“Ah, welcome to the GTN Mercenary Floor. How may we help you today, sir?” asked a pink haired girl who may have been human, but who was possibly any number of different breeds of Crystallim.

“Hello. I am Scott Matthews. I have come to acquire my starter.” He called up his inventory screen and pulled out his trade ticket.

The girl took the ticket from him, scanned it, and then nodded. “Of course! If you step over to the right, you can take the transit portal to your private screening room.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Scott nodded to the girl then walked toward the small platform on the right. He waved his hand through a green light then waited for the transit point to awaken properly.

Once the transit point opened and stabilized he walked through the dimensional aperture and exited inside an empty room. The way back closed behind him, but he did not care about that at the moment.

“Room function activation requested.” said Scott.

“Request granted. Welcome to GTN Scott Matthews. You are currently authorized one free Crystallim transaction. You are limited to the five traditional starter Crystallim. They may only be ranked between the rank grades F and C. Begin your selection process when you are ready.”

Scott felt a small electrical pulse run through his body. He now had room control. He raised his hand and made a sweeping gesture. Dozens of images arose before him. After a moment he swept his hand once more and the images were replaced.

“Command Function: Change settings. Show only C-Rank Crystallim.” said Scott.

The images immediately shifted once more. He looked at the top of the selection list and noted that there were over twelve thousand selections to sort through. “This could take a while.”

He considered his needs for the moment. “Remove starter Crystallim types one, two, and three from the list.”

The listing dropped to a little over four thousand offerings remaining. That was a much better selection group. Scott had just removed the Cat Girl, Vulf, and Bunny Crystallim from the listing. They were excellent starters to work with, but they did not provide much in the way of special capacities that he needed at the moment. The two types left were the Alraune and the Avia. Basically, he could choose between either a plant girl or a bird girl.

“Remove the Avia Crystallim from the list.” Scott had made a decision. The Avia would have given him wind manipulation powers, but the Alraune granted minor regenerative capacity. His vital force would be able to regenerate a little faster, and once she evolves a few times, their bond would allow him to regrow lost limbs. Though, he would need to refine the girl several times and develop a high-end synchronization rate in order to unlock that ability.

The options remaining dropped to just over nineteen hundred. Scott looked through the list and immediately began to make further cuts. “Remove all Alraune from the list who are not rated as humanoid type one or type two.”

Immediately, the available options dropped to three hundred sixty four. He had removed all of the Crystallim who needed to be rooted to the ground or who looked like a tree with breasts. The remaining girls were all bipedal and looked mostly human. There were flower parts growing on most of them, and a large number of them had green or dark brown skin.

Scott had no prejudice against the girls who looked less human than others. But he needed to be able to interact with his starter easily. The further away from human a girl was, the more difficult it was to develop a high synchronization ratio.

He looked through the remaining options and began to make selections. He chose girls who appealed to his sensibilities or who had higher than average scores in certain stats. They would all be level one when he bonded with them. Bonding with a new master reset a Crystallim’s status to their base.

In the end, he whittled his options down to eighty-seven girls. “Transport my selections to this room in lots of twenty.”

The screen selection options faded out and four glass cases shimmered into sight. Each case held five Crystallim, tiny marble-sized level-one Crystallim.

Scott walked to the first case and ran his hand along the surface of the glass. He checked for signs of an energetic effect. Each of the Crystallim glowed slightly, but there were no clear connections. The core essence of those girls viewed him with indifference.

He moved to the next case. Three of the Crystallim in the second case showed a slightly increased effect. A soft-green light radiated outward from them. He viewed the synchronization rate and noted that it ranged between eight to twelve percent. Scott logged those three girls on a selection screen and then moved to the next case and then to the final one.

After checking all of the currently offered Crystallim, he had saved four as a possible selection, and sent the rest away. The next twenty girls arrived. He checked through them and only two of them made the cut. One had a synchronization of six percent, and the other had a thirteen percent ratio.

Scott checked through the rest of the Crystallim until he had moved through all eighty-seven of his possible selections. In the end, he had twelve Alraune girls to choose from.

“Anything over ten percent would do, I suppose.” Scott removed five girls from the list.

Synchronization rates related to how well the human and the Crystallim matched in their resonance. Basically, it related to how suitable they were for each other. In a more emotional manner of speaking, it was how likely the Crystallim was to like you. A low ratio seemed like it would mean that the girl would hate you, but it just meant that she did not know you. If there was any sort of spark at all, even one percent, it meant the girl was at least slightly interested in your particular resonance.

If the Crystallim was not interested in your resonance, she would not be able to bond with you. Though, a human with a high resonance stat might be able change her mind by attempting to communicate a sincere desire to get to know her better.

Scott called up the information screens for each of the remaining eight Crystallim. He removed five more of the girls due to the fact that they had average stat growth. The final three girls had above average growth in at least two stats.

When a Crystallim gained a level, they did not receive status points. Their stats increased automatically according to breed and capacity. A C-Rank, tier-one, level-one, and Alraune starter could have several above average stats. Though, the girls who were less human in appearance frequently had higher stat growth or specialized abilities. The girls who were the closest to human usually had either no above average stats or perhaps two at most.

The rank of a Crystallim had a standardized effect on their stats. It was a wonderful discovery. Every increase in rank added at least a one point modifier for all stats on top of their basic racial stats. That meant that all Crystallim received a plus three modifier on average if they were C-Rank. The Alraune girls who Scott had to choose from at the moment each had at least two additional stat modifiers, so some of their stats would be plus four instead of just plus three.

“Now, who do I choose?” Scott looked at the three remaining Crystallim and tried to make a decision. There were all two-star girls, above average. The star ratings were a quick indication of power, they ranged from zero stars to five stars. A zero-star girl was considered below average. She would need refinement and a lot of care to grow. One star was considered average. Most Crystallim were one star girls. They ranged up to five stars, which were considered to be elite for their rank.

The ranking of the Crystallim was more important than their star-rating, however. Elite five-star, F-Rank, Crystallim were only equal to perhaps a three-star E-Rank Crystallim. The wonders of refinement allowed for greatly improved capacity, so even a weak girl could become strong if her master was willing to pay the price.

Of course, weak was a relative term. Crystallim were generally much stronger than humans of a similar level.

Scott looked over the stats of the girls once more then checked the synchronization ratio. It was impossible to choose from that alone at this point. Instead of that, he decided to study their appearance.

Each of the girls was beautiful in her own way. They were formed from a combination of human and different types of plants. One girl had a slightly higher attack power and had thorny vines. Another girl had sunflowers sprouting on the sides of her head and gifted him with a sweet, natural-seeming, smile.

The third girl had light green skin, bright blue eyes, elfin ears, and a cantaloupe sized flower bud growing from her back. She wore a curious expression that caught Scott’s attention.

Scott liked all three girls, but he chose to study the final girl’s stats with greater care.

<<< Status >>>

Breed Name: Alraune | Grade: ** | Rank: C

Age: 19 | Level: 1

EXP: 0 | EXP to Next Level: 10

Owner: None

V.Force: 35

Attack: 3 | Defense: 4

Strength: 3 | Agility: 3 | Vitality: 7

Intellect: 4 | Resonance: 3

<<< Special >>>

2-Star Bonus:

+1 Vitality per level

+1 Intellect per level

Photosynthetic Regeneration: [Type 1]

She is capable of regenerating lost or damaged bodies parts when she is exposed to sunlight.

Photosynthetic Conversion: [Type 1]

She is capable of absorbing sunlight and converting it into vital force.

Plant Manipulation: [Type 1]

She is capable of manipulating the growth and mobility of plants to a minor degree. This specialization allows for the development of plant-based attacks.

<<< Abilities >>>

Entangle: [VF 3] Level 1

Vine Whip: [VF 2] Level 1

Leaf-Cutter: [VF 5] Level 1

Solar Absorption: [VF 10] Level 1

<<< Synchronization Gifts >>>

Passive:

+ 1 Vitality

Photosynthetic Conversion

Plant Manipulation

Active:

Solar Absorption: [VF 15] Level 1

>>

Scott rubbed his chin. Her stats were not much different than the other two choices, though he did like that she had an intellect bonus. Minor vitality bonuses were common for Alraune, but extra intellect modifiers were not.

A thought crossed his mind. “I wonder how people lived before the EXP system?”

Prior to the system’s invention everything was a guessing game. The ancient race of man had been practically blind and never really understood how they compared to other creatures or each other. Modern science allowed people to easily determine their actual capacity through measurements and metrics that rendered most things into numeric values. Of course, there were still hidden variables that could not be accurately measured.

Scott made a decision. He dismissed the other girls and commanded the glass case to open. He would try to form a tenuous bond with the third girl. If the bond did not take, that would be fine. He would recall the last two girls and try with one of them.

He picked up the tiny jewel-like crystal and cupped it in his hands. He thought strongly about how he would like to get to know the true nature of the crystalline being he held within his hands. “Hello.”

The Crystallim crystal core vibrated gently in his hand. The soft green light green slightly brighter and tiny currents of energy began to skitter out like miniature lightning bolts. A gently voice responded, though it seemed far away. “Hi...”

She had responded to him! The Alraune was willing to make his acquaintance. That was an excellent start. “My name is Scott. Do you have a name?”

“Flora...” whispered the gentle voice.

He smirked. That was not exactly an original name for an Alraune, but it was still a nice name. “That’s a pretty name.”

The tiny crystal grew slightly brighter. Flora’s voice increased in volume, just a little. “Thank you... Your name is pretty, too.”

Scott looked at the crystal for a moment and thought strongly about how he would like to be friends with Flora. He envisioned hugging her and laughing with her. After a few brief seconds the light intensified further. He began to receive images from her as well. It was a shadowy, ill-formed image of two vaguely human forms cuddling.

“Would you like to be friends, Flora?” asked Scott.

The green lightshow intensified several times over and little arcs of pale green lighting skirled outward to tingle his palms. A single image was the response. It was a bright red heart symbol with vines wrapped around it.

He received an official system message after that.

>>

You have formed a tenuous bond with an Alraune. If you wish to continue building upon this bond, you should complete your transaction with the current owner. Failure to do so will result in stiff penalties and possible loss of your Hunter’s license.

>>

Scott quickly accepted Flora as his choice. A new screen popped up. It asked him to choose a piece of equipment.

Crystallim needed to remain in contact with their master in order for the special bond that they shared to continue to grow. They also needed to keep their core in close proximity so that the master could utilize their passive and active bonuses.

The hunter pulled up his inventory screen and checked the various items that he had available. He chose to equip his titanium bracer. It was low-end defensive gear, but it was designed with three slots.

Flora was equipped to the middle slot on his bracer and a light green pattern of lights streamed alone the surface of the specially prepared device. The effect gave off the visual representation of circuitry made of light.

“Alright! I officially have my first partner.” said Scott with excitement.

A soft feminine giggle echoed inside his mind. His new companion seemed happy as well.

He checked to see if his passive and active gifts were available then smiled. Everything was working just fine.

Scott raised his right arm then angled his forearm outward. “Flora!”

The green light from before flared brightly for a moment and then a beam of light shot outward from the Crystallim core. The light beam stopped a few feet from Scott’s position. A sphere of energy formed then elongated into a humanoid shape. Soon the shape formed into a beautiful Alraune girl with light green skin and a curious, but happy expression.

“Hello, Scott.” said the plant girl.

He smiled at her. Technically, he could have her refer to him as master and she no doubt would do so. He saw no need for that, however. He did not hate the word master, but he did not want to force them to refer to him in a specific manner as long as they were respectful. He would do the same for them and call them by name instead of by their breed name like many people did. “Hello, Flora. Are you feeling well?”

“Better than I have in a while.” She walked toward him then held open her arms.

Scott recognized her invitation. They had both previously sent images related to hugging and cuddling. She wanted to get started apparently.

The young hunter walked over to her then gently wrapped his arms around her. They held each other close for a time, simply enjoying the warmth of their embrace. It was a slow start to their new relationship, but things would no doubt escalate quickly. They always did when a human and a Crystallim were brought together by mutual choice.